Elar d'Thuranni
Baron Elar d'Thuranni is the patriarch of House Thuranni. He founded House Thuranni in blood, when he and his bloodline slaughtered the Paelion bloodline during the Shadow Schism, splitting the family from House Phiarlan. Baron Elar runs the House Thuranni holdings from Regalport in the Lhazaar Principalities. History Viceroy of House Phiarlan Originally, Elar d'Thuranni was known as Elar Thuranni d'Phiarlan, a Viceroy of House Phiarlan under Baron Elvinor Ellorenthi d'Phiarlan. The elves of House Phiarlan bear the Mark of Shadow, and while they publicly front the Entertainers Guild, in secret they run the Assassins Guild. The Mark of Shadow manifested in many bloodlines, but five bloodlines stood above all: Elorrenthi, Paelion, Shol, Thuranni, and Tialaen. While each of the bloodlines had issues with each other, they all proved a powerful force during the Last War, performing a number of assassinations and constantly turning the tide of the war. The Shadow Schism In 972 YK, Knight Superior Kadrath ir'Vardikk of the Order of the Emerald Claw, at the time working as agents of Karrnath, approached Viceroy Elar. Sir Kadrath revealed that the Paelion family was working in conjunction with Breland, and that they were behind an assassination plot against the child king Kaius ir'Wynarn III and his regent, Moranna ir'Wynarn. Sir Kadrath wanted Viceroy Elar to eliminate the Paelions involved before they could strike. While Elar was hesitant to target his own family, he sought out corroborating evidence. Elar approached an independent agent with connections in Karrnath: Gaven d'Lyrandar of House Lyrandar. What information Gaven uncovered, though, shocked Elar. Tolar Paelion d'Phiarlan, the head of the Paelion bloodline, not only had a plan to assassinate the king of Karrnath, but was planning on assassinating the rulers of all Five Nations, and consolidating power under Paelion. These plans included the assassination of the other four major families within House Phiarlan. Elar decided he needed to strike fast. He took the best assassins within the Thuranni family, and they struck quickly. Elar himself killed Tolar, and his family killed every Paelion member they could find in the main House Phiarlan enclave in Regalport. Across Khorvaire, other Thuranni stuck as well, bringing an end to the Paelion line. This became known as the Shadow Schism. The Creation of House Thuranni Outraged at the betrayal within House Phiarlan, Baron Elvinor declared Elar and his family excoriated. Elar, though, did not accept her punishment. Instead, Elar declared the Thuranni bloodline its own house: House Thuranni. Naming himself Baron Elar d'Thuranni, Elar took the contracts that both the Thuranni line and the Paelion line possessed before the schism. While this is the public story of the formation of Elar's House Thuranni, there are many that question these events. Some believe that the Order of the Emerald Claw fabricated all of the evidence; some that the Shadow Schism was the result of secret agents of the Chamber; and others believe that Viceroy Elar and Baron Elvinor agreed to the split and decided to make Paelion the common enemy. The true hidden reason of the Shadow Schism, though, was none of these. In fact, the Shadow Schism was the creation of the dragon Shakravar, who had merged with the body of Gaven d'Lyrandar. Shakravar planted the information for his own motivation: Shakravar followed the Draconic Prophecy, and sought to fulfill a part of the Prophecy as the "Storm Dragon." However, before that, a piece of the prophecy needed to be fulfilled: "The cauldron of the thirteen dragons boils until one of the five beasts fighting over a single bone becomes a thing of desolation." Shakravar believed that the thirteen dragons were thirteen dragonmarked houses, and that the twelve current houses needed to become thirteen. To do that, Shakravar must create a thirteenth house, which he did by manipulating Elar. House Thuranni Today Baron Elar continues to lead House Thuranni, even in the face of major competition from House Phiarlan. Elar leads the house from its headquarters in Regalport, the capital of the Lhazaar Principalities. Baron Elar also has holdings in Sharn, the City of Towers. Unknown to most, Baron Elar has also been overseeing the construction of a massive, heavily fortified enclave on the remote island of Stonespur, which has been under construction for two decades. Tensions between House Thuranni and House Phiarlan remain, with the two houses effectively splitting a post-Last War Khorvaire: Thuranni tends to work with Karrnath, the Lhazaar Principalities, and Q'Barra, while Phiarlan works with Aundair, Breland, and Thrane. In addition, Elar has heard rumblings that, much like the Paelions, agents of House Deneith seek to unify the nations of Galifar under House Deneith rule. To that end, Baron Elar keeps a sharp eye on House Deneith and its operations. Wrem and Wrek Baron Elar always has at his side two greater shadows named Wrem and Wrek. These creatures are as dark as night, and as insubstantial as smoke. They serve as the Baron's bodyguards, as well as his agents during the few important times when the Baron himself goes on an assassination. Notes In the image of Elar with Wrem and Wreck featured on page 119 of the sourcebook, Sharn City of Towers, the caption mispells his name as Ela'n''' d'Thuranni.'' References Category: People Category:Elves Category:Dragonmarked Category:Members of House Thuranni Category:Rogues Category:Inhabitants of Regalport Category:Novel Characters Category:House Thuranni Category:Inhabitants of the Lhazaar Principalities